Tips for Chicken Noodle Soup

I haven't been feeling well lately.  And I know why.  I have been "cheating" -- but no worries, not on the Future Husband.  I have been cheating on myself with food.  JA coined the term "cheating" and for us, it has stuck.  Cheating means not following our allergen diets, and eating things we know we are allergic to. 

For JA, this usually means "cheat-za" (or pizza).  For me, it is usually desserts.  But lately, it has been a little of everything.  The FH (Future Husband) and I have been travelling a lot lately.  At the end of April, we went to the wonderful wedding of my oldest friend -- it was in North Carolina.

(me and Jordan at her gorgeous wedding)



The food was amazing and how could I pass up true Southern BBQ?  Including fried chicken.  I just had to eat at Bojangles -- the best chicken and biscuits ever!  It all sure tasted good, but I didn't feel so good....

But that didn't stop me from enjoying myself in Vegas the next weekend.  I enjoyed all the amazing food Vegas had to offer -- including Serendipity's Frozen Hot Chocolate and the Pastrami Sandwich at the Carnegie Deli.  I just ate my way through Vegas.  And my stomach sure paid for it....

(eating my pastrami sandwich that I could barely fit in my mouth)

(me, Krystle (FH's cousin) and Dee (future mother-in-law) enjoying our frozen hot chocolates)

I continued to cheat throughout the next few weekends when we had family and friends in town.  It is just easier when we go out for me to cheat.  But it has caught up to me.  And my stomach and body are paying for it.

So tonight the FH made me his Nana's (great-grandmother) Chicken Noodle Soup.  This is an Italian style soup -- with meatballs!  Making chicken noodle soup gluten-free is very easy.  Regular soup doesn't have any dairy, nuts, soy as it is -- so all you have to do is replace the noodles. 

So some tips when replacing regular noodles with gluten-free noodles:

- don't use quinoa pasta -- it just doesn't hold up well with the broth

- our favorite brand is Tinkyada -- we actually use the shapes (like the pasta for kids)

- Lundberg pasta works well too

- COOK THE PASTA SEPARATELY!  Since you are using rice pasta, the pasta will continue to soak up the broth/liquid -- expanding the noodles and reducing your amount of broth

*so we add the noodles into the bowl and then pile on the soup -- we even store the noodles separately, just combine when you want to eat leftovers*

My tummy is starting to feel better :)  And I am not cheating for the whole month of June.  Wish me luck!  And enjoy your own soup when you are feeling under the weather!

Chocolate Pudding Pie

We had a BBQ with friends this past weekend.  And of course, I brought the dessert.  I had been reading Cooking Light and found a recipe for Rich Chocolate Pudding Pie.  It sounded delicious and pretty easy to make, so I figured why not try it!

I told JA about it and she recommended that I try a similar recipe in a cookbook that she is in love with: Cooking for Isaiah (it is a gluten and dairy-free cookbook).  I wanted to make both of them and then figured we could do a blind taste test to see which one would make the blog.

As I set about baking, I already knew which one I would blog about.  And the reason was simple: it was easier to make.*  This happened to be the Cooking Light version of the pie.   [I had to adapt a few things of course.]

AK’s Cooking Light Rich Chocolate Pudding Pie

Crust:

30 chocolate cookies (I used an entire package of Pamela's Cookies)

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate -- melted

1 oz. dark chocolate -- melted

1 tablespoon canola oil

To prepare the crust, place the cookies in a food processor and process until finely ground.  Add in the melted chocolate and canola oil; process until well blended.  Press the mixture into the bottom and up sides of a greased 9-inch pie plate.  Freeze for about 15 minutes or until set.

Filling:

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup cornstarch

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa

¼ teaspoon salt

¾ cup coconut milk (in the can and not light)

1 cup rice milk [mixed with the coconut milk]

2 large egg yolks

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate – chopped finely

1 ounce dark chocolate – chopped finely

1 tablespoon vodka

½ cup fresh raspberries

To prepare the filling, combine the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa, and salt in a large saucepan; stir with a whisk.  Add half of the milk [that you mixed together] and the 2 yolks; stir with a whisk until smooth.  Stir in the remaining milk.  Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until thick and bubbly, stir constantly.  [This took about 5 minutes for me, and the mixture was thick but not so much bubbly.]  Remove from heat and add the 4 ounces of chocolate.  Stir until smooth and add the vodka.  Pour into the set pie crust.

Cover with plastic wrap; chill 4 hours or until set. [I recommend putting it in the freezer.]  Serve with raspberries – use whip cream if you want.**

It was yummy and rich – you don’t need too much!

 

*While the other version turned out great, it was a little difficult to make.  You had to separate egg yolks and whites (not too hard).  Then you had to double boil the egg yolks, whites and also the chocolate.  The author didn’t give enough information to let me know the consistency of the yolks, so the first time, it was too thick.  Then the whites were too thin.  Then…. Finally on round #4, I got it right! This is why I chose to write up the other recipe J

**I found Rice Whip Cream and was extremely excited to try it….. Only to find out it tasted like crap.  I don’t recommend it and neither does JA.  We threw the can away!

Sorry there are no pictures....  I was too busy making the other version of the pie four times to take pictures.  But I can say that it turned out great and I will make it again!

Gluten Free Around the World

My parents just got back from a 10-day bike trip around Tuscany.  Jealous?  Agreed.  I have been to Italy before and fell in love with the food!  And of course the wine. 

So when my parents decided to go, I was excited for them but also a little jealous that I wouldn't be able to eat the delicious Italian food.*

Until I got this email from my mom:

WHAT?  And the best is that this menu is not from a town that any of us have ever heard of -- no Florence, Rome, Milan for this gluten-free menu!  It is from one of the towns my parents stopped at during their trip.  Now, these are "tourist" places -- but still -- this is Italy we are talking about.  The home of pasta and pizza.  And here, those that can't eat gluten can travel to the birth place of such amazing food [and history] and actually be okay! 

So tonight the Future Husband and I made pasta.  He is part Italian after all!  We made gluten-free ravioli!  It was stuffed with peas and goat cheese.**  Talk about amazing :)  [He and I are still working on our gluten-free pasta recipe -- we can't seem to get it "perfect" but we are getting there.]

So now, I can enjoy amazing gluten-free pasta here at home or in Italy.  And since we will be traveling to Europe next year, it is nice to know that I will be to find some things to eat.  Now if only the French made their bread gluten-free....



*I can eat some gluten.  I have found that if I eat too much in a short period of time, I get an icky rash on my arms.  Nothing itchy, just annoying and not the greatest looking.  So I tend not to eat gluten unless it is worth it.....
**I can handle goat and sheep cheese/milk.  Must be a lactose thing!  So I do use some of these products in my cooking/baking!